


born from just one single stare

by apolloxbvcky



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), M/M, Shiro is the best big bro in the world, Title from a Taylor Swift Song, as per usual, this is just me projecting on keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28961559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apolloxbvcky/pseuds/apolloxbvcky
Summary: “You know, growing up, it was just my father and me, and when he passed away… Well, it was just me. I’m used to spending my birthday alone.”“Well, but now you don’t have to anymore, Keith. You have a family now. You have your mom, and Kolivan. You have Shiro, and Curtis. You have Hunk, and Pidge and…”“You. I have you.” Keith had finished. Lance had nodded.“Yeah. You have me, Keith."
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 58





	born from just one single stare

**Author's Note:**

> it's my birthday today and in my anxiety i started projecting on keith and now here we are. hope you guys like it :)

So, the thing is: Keith doesn’t like his birthday. Never has. Not since his father died. 

Birthdays weren’t that special after he was left alone in the world. Sure, the foster homes always wanted him to throw a party, but what party could he throw anyway? He had no family or friends to invite over. The other kids weren’t exactly nice to him. And he didn’t love the idea of having his carers sing happy birthday to him out of pity.

So he always refused. He’d say thanks when they wished him a happy birthday, and after lunch, he would go see his father. He would sit in front of him, feeling the wind against his cheeks, and whisper how much he missed him and how he wished he was there with him. 

He never had any birthday traditions - they didn’t have traditions, his father and him; but after he passed away, he wished he had had some, just so he could recreate them on his own, to keep his memory alive if anything else. But there were only memories of industrial cakes and small presents, same as everyone else. 

His first birthday at the Garrison, he sneaked out just to see him, too. It was his tradition, now. When he went back, Shiro was waiting in his room, sitting on his bed with a disappointed look and a wrapped up present between his hands. Keith had never told him it was his birthday, but he had guessed Shiro had looked at his records anyway. 

He remembered dragging his feet through the room, sitting on the floor right in front of Shiro and looking down to the floor.

“I was worried about you.” Shiro had said. 

“I know. I’m sorry.” he had replied. Shiro knew him, though. Knew he wouldn’t get an answer as to why he had sneaked out, so he just had sighed, ruffled his matted hair and offered him the box.

“Happy birthday, Keith.” he had said, smiling at him. And Keith was not really sure he had seen such a genuine smile in a long, long time. He had picked the box up, carefully, placing it between his crossed legs and opening it as carefully as a 14 year old could. 

Inside, there was a frame picture of Keith and Shiro. He didn’t know when the photo had been taken, but it showed Keith under Shiro’s arm, the older boy giving him a noogie as the younger boy yelled and tried to push away. 

Keith remembered the day it was taken, though. Shiro had just graduated with honors from the Garrison just a few months after they met, and he had invited Keith to sit with his parents. The kid had refused at first, wondering why he even mattered enough to be there. But Shiro had convinced him in the end, and he had ended up sitting between Shiro’s weeping mom and his boyfriend, Adam, who had been explaining to him what was going on the whole time. He remembered wearing his nice jeans, the ones that fit him right and weren’t too short for his legs; his ankles got cold or too long for his waist; he had to double loop his belt; a shirt that had belonged to his father and looked too big on him anyway; meanwhile Shiro wore his Garrison uniform.

“Adam took it, when we weren’t looking.” Shiro had explained, smiling. “He showed it to me the other day and… I just think it’s cool. I wanted you to have it, too.” 

“Too?” he had asked, frowning. Shiro had chuckled.

“Of course. It’s hanging on my wall. It should be hanging on yours too, don’t you think?” Shiro had said, looking around. “I just feel like you would be more comfortable if… you know. The room felt yours.”

Keith had looked around, too. He had thought that maybe Shiro was right: there had been nothing that belonged to him in this room. He knew other kids had posters, and family pictures, some had plants, or plushies. His room was pristine, barely lived in. It was exactly the same as it had been the first time he had come in. 

The younger boy had stood up, the framed picture between his hands, and placed it on his nightstand. Then, he had turned back to look at Shiro and had given him a crooked smile. He had smiled back, stood up, and embraced him. “Thank you.” the kid had said. Shiro had ruffled his hair, again, making him groan.

“Adam wanted to give you a gift, too. He’s cooking dinner for three, so… do you want to join us?” Keith had smiled, nodding, and they had left his room and walked right towards their apartment, where Keith felt, after a long time, like maybe he could start enjoying his birthdays again. 

Until he turned 18 all on his own, once again. 

Shiro had left for a mission on Pluto’s moon, Kerberos; and never come back. Keith had gotten in trouble at school, and they had kicked him out. He had expected Shiro to appear at some point, but he never did. Adam had tried to reach out to him, but he had pushed him away.  _ Better now than when I least expect it _ , he had told himself. 

He had spent his birthday alone in the middle of a desert, looking for clues to find his best friend again, and that was all. A day just like any other. 

His nineteenth birthday, he had spent in space. No one in the crew knew it was his birthday, because he never told anyone. Except for Shiro, of course. 

He had gone to his room early in the morning, when not even Keith had woken up, sat on the bed, and smiled down at him. Keith had still been a little out, but he had seen Shiro’s smile and had smiled back. 

“I know you don’t want to make a big thing out of this.” Shiro had said. “But I still wanted to wish you a happy birthday.” 

Keith had sat up, and thrown his hands around Shiro’s neck. “Thanks, Shiro.” 

Shiro had let out a sigh and hugged him back. “You’re welcome, Keith.” 

He had left the room after a few more words and never brought up his birthday in front of the others. 

A few weeks later, he died.

  
  


By his next birthday, Keith was with his mother - his actual, real, mother, and wasn’t that a  _ plot twist _ , that his mother was an alien, and such a badass one, at that - inside a whale. Well, technically, it was a quantum abyss, but to Keith it was a fucking whale.

And, would you look at that, he had a dog, too. A space wolf, actually. That could teleport. Keith was close to losing his mind. 

He hadn’t been counting the days they spent in the quantum abyss, but apparently, Krolia had. He woke up to his mother smiling at him, the wolf’s head in her lap, running her fingers through it’s fur. 

“Is everything okay, mom?” he had asked.

“You were born twenty years ago.” she had said, and Keith had frowned. Looking at her, he had tilted his head.

“You remember?” 

“Of course I do. I delivered you, remember? It’s not something one easily forgets.” Keith had blushed, sitting up and looking away. 

“When I was a kid… When dad was still alive, we used to eat cake today. And he’d give me a present. It’s an Earthen custom, I guess.” he had shrugged.

“Would you want a present?” Krolia had asked. Keith had shaken his head.

“Just you being here is enough, mom.” he had stood up, walked to his mother and hugged her, petting the wolf’s head at the same time.

  
  


But a year later, still in the quantum abyss, by the time his birthday came again, Krolia had somehow managed to get him a birthday present. It was nothing big, but it meant the world to Keith. She had made him a knife out of stone, and Keith had smiled when she gave it to him. It wasn’t as sharp as his Blade, but his mother had taken the time and effort to do it in her spare time, and Keith knew he would never be able to detach himself from it. 

  
  


By the time his 22nd birthday rolled around, the war was already over. He was with the Blade of Marmora, helping a planet that had been attacked by the Galra years ago. They were delivering resources and offering humanitarian relief, nothing dangerous. Krolia had asked him to take some time off the action, but he couldn’t just settle on Earth. 

He had never belonged there, and he knew then it was because he was always meant to be there, in the stars. Whether that be helping or fighting. 

He had been in the middle of unloading a ship when his com started beeping. Keith looked at his partner, Koian, who smiled at him, nodding. 

Keith walked away to receive the call. “Keith!” someone exclaimed from the other side. In the screen, he could see Pidge, Hunk, and Lance, pushing each other, trying to be the one in the center of the screen. He chuckled.

“Hey, guys.” he had smiled, seeing Lance try to push Hunk away from the camera, to no avail.

“Keith, Shiro told us it’s your birthday today! How come you never told us, dude?” Hunk had complained, frowning at him. Keith had rolled his eyes.

“So the cat’s out of the bag, isn’t it?” he had shrugged. “We were in the middle of a war. My birthday wasn’t the important issue at the moment.” 

“But I could’ve baked you so many cakes! So many!”

“You can bake one next year?” Keith had replied, apologetic.

“Oh, screw the cakes! Man, I thought we were friends! How did you never tell me?” Lance had yelled from somewhere he couldn’t see.

“Yeah, even I'm offended.” Pidge had said, rolling their eyes.

“Guys, I’m sorry.” Keith had said. “I just… I don’t really care about my birthday that much. It’s just a day, don’t worry.” 

“No, no, no.” Lance had finally showed up in the frame, his eyebrows frowned and his lips pursed. Keith had bit his lip. “When are you coming back from that planet?” 

“Uh… a week, maybe?” 

“Great. We’ve missed four of your birthdays, so Hunk will be baking four cakes and Pidge, Shiro and I will be throwing you a party four times bigger than we would have in a normal year. And don’t you fucking dare to think we’ll forget from now on. October 23rd is now implanted in my mind.” Lance had replied. “A Scorpio.” he had puffed. “Figures.” 

Keith had rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Whatever you say, Lance. It’s great to see you, guys, but I need to go back to work. You know what that is?” 

“I’m on lunch break!” Pidge had complained. 

“I’m my own boss.” Hunk had shrugged.

“Yeah, and I don’t fucking care what you think about me. Me and my farm are happy together.” Lance had said. “But seriously, Keith. Happy birthday, man.” 

“Yeah, happy birthday!” 

“Thank you, guys. Honestly. But I have to go, for real. See you in a week?” 

“You bet, Mullet.” 

Keith had smiled before he had hung up.

  
  


A week later, of course, Keith had arrived on Earth, and been tackled by Lance’s body before he had even come down from the bridge, making him fall backwards. “Lance!” he had complained with the little air he still had on his lungs after the shock.

“Hello, samurai. I’ve missed you.” he had smiled down at him, his hands on either side of Keith’s head. Keith had blushed, pushing him away.

“I’ve… missed you too, Lance.” he had coughed. “Uh, what are you doing here?” 

“Did you really think the party was an empty threat? No, no, my friend.” Lance had said, throwing his arm around Keith’s shoulder. “You’re going to have the best birthday party ever. I’d know, I organized it.”

Keith had chuckled, standing up, and offering Lance his hand to help him up. “I’ll be the judge to that.” 

Lance wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh, you’ll see.” 

The party had been… great. 

He had expected Lance to go all the way, inviting at least every Blade and half the Garrison, but… Well, Keith had never thought about what he’d like for a birthday party, but Lance had definitely hit the nail in the head.

It was just them, the Voltron team; his mother and Kolivan and some other Blades he was close with; Shiro’s fiancée, Curtis, and the MFE pilots and engineers that had joined them during their time in the Atlas. It was all people Keith felt comfortable with, people he knew loved him and cared for him, and he felt himself feeling happy they were all together for a happy reason, for once. 

They had given Keith presents, and Lance had recorded the whole thing, yelling stuff that made Keith blush, and making him laugh. Hunk had actually baked four cakes, but it was good because there were people enough that no one left a crumb. 

And when the party was over, Lance and him stayed behind, tidying up the room; even though Lance had told him to go to his room, that he could handle it, he didn’t.

“Thanks, by the way. For the… party. It was nice.” he had said. Lance had smiled at him. 

“It’s the least I could do, Keith. I can’t believe you never told me your birthday.” 

“I told you. I don’t… I don’t really care about my birthday.” he had sighed, turning to look at his friend. “You know, growing up, it was just my father and me, and when he passed away… Well, it was just me. I’m used to spending my birthday alone.”

“Well, but now you don’t have to anymore, Keith. You have a family now. You have your mom, and Kolivan. You have Shiro, and Curtis. You have Hunk, and Pidge and…”

“You. I have you.” Keith had finished. Lance had nodded.

“Yeah. You have me, Keith. Whatever you need, whenever you need, wherever you need. However you need me, I’m gonna be there for you. You know that?”

“Yes. And… it’s the same for me. You know that.” 

Lance had smiled, taking a step closer towards Keith. “I… Did you notice I didn’t get you a present?”

Keith had frowned. “I thought the party was the present.”

“Uhm, no. I… Keith.” he had said, walking even closer, and took one of his hands. 

“Your cheeks are glowing. The… the Altea things.” Keith had said, unable to look away from the blue glow under Lance’s eyes. 

“I know. Allura gave them to me out of love. Now, everytime I feel, let’s say, big amounts of love… they glow.” 

“Oh.” Then, Keith's eyes had widened. “ _ Oh _ .”

Lance had chuckled, and placed his hands on Keith’s cheek, running his thumb across the scar. “You are  _ so _ dumb.” he had said, before leaning in and placing a soft kiss on his lips. 

When they had broken apart, Keith had smiled up at him. “Uhm. I… love you too?” 

“Keith, is that a question?” Lance had asked, raising one of his eyebrows.

“Uh, no! No. I-I love you too, Lance.” 

Lance had smiled, running his hands down his neck and towards his shoulder, pulling him towards his body to hug him, hiding his face on his neck. 

“Happy birthday, Keith.”

And Keith had smiled.

  
  


On Keith’s 24th birthday, he’s woken up by a sudden weight on his stomach, and a voice singing. 

“Wake up, wake up, if it’s all you do!” Keith opens one eye to see his boyfriend sitting on top of him, straddling his body with his legs. He sighs, placing his hands on his thighs, and opens his eyes to look up at him. “Look out, look inside of you! It’s not what you lost, it’s what you’ll gain raising your voice in the rain!” Keith chuckles when Lance finishes singing and smiles down at him. “Good morning, love of my life.” 

“Good morning, love.” Keith growls. “Did you have to wake me up with a song from the Netflix ghost band show?”

“It’s a great show!”

“You only like it because you think the guitarist is hot.”

“Am I wrong?” Keith shrugs. 

“I like the bassist better.” 

  
“Of course you do.” he says, rolling his eyes. “Anyway. Happy birthday, love!” he leans down to peck his lips. “I have a whole day planned for us. I left the kid with my sister and Acxa-”

“Kosmo is not our kid, Lance.” 

“Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking.” Lance frowns at him. Keith rolls his eyes, running his hands up and down his boyfriend’s thighs. “That’s better. So, I have like a lot of surprises for you and a bunch of places to be and-”

“Baby?” Lance frowns again. 

“What now?”

“Thanks for organizing everything. But it’s…” he turns to the nightstand beside his bed, where his digital clock rests. “It’s 8.30 and right now all I want to do is kiss you and have birthday sex.”

Lance frunces his lips. “Birthday sex isn’t scheduled until after dinner…” Keith chuckles when Lance lets out a dramatic sigh. “Fine. Let’s not follow the schedule, then.” 

“Sounds great.” Keith says, raising his hand to place it on the back of Lance’s neck, pushing him down to kiss him slowly. 

“Happy birthday, Keith.” he says between kisses, rubbing his nose against Keith’s. Keith smiles, pecking his lips again.

“I love you. You didn’t have to organize anything special.”

“Yeah? Well, wait until next week. What I have planned for our anniversary will rock your world.” 

Keith sighs contently, trapping his boyfriend between his arms and rolling them in bed so that he is on top of Lance.

“You rocked my world six years ago, Lance McClain.” he says, before leaning down to kiss him hungrily. 

“God, I love you so much.” Lance says, making Keith chuckle.

“I love you more.”

“No. No, the hell you do.” 

Keith rolls his eyes. “Shut up and let me kiss you, Lance.”

Lance grimaced. “I won’t say no to that.”

Between laughs, they kiss again. 

And well, maybe with Lance by his side, he won’t hate his birthday anymore.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> if you liked this and would like to support my work you can [buy me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/marvelousmers)
> 
> and you can come be friends with me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/redpaladinzuko) or [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/stuckylovers) :)


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